Comparative effectiveness research will play a crucial role in shaping national health care reform by investigating and identifying mechanisms to improve quality, reduce the cost of care, and conduct primary research that responds to the needs of patients, clinicians, and policymakers in decision-making. The Oregon KM1 program will integrate the Oregon Evidence-based Practice Center's comparative effectiveness research activities, OHSU CTSA (OCTRI)'s research infrastructure, and the successes of K training programs at OHSU to train future scientific and health care leaders in the principles of comparative effectiveness research. The mission of the Oregon Institute for Comparative Effectiveness (Oregon ICE) is to identify, train, and mentor successful junior, mid-level, and senior faculty who have the potential to conduct, mentor, and catalyze innovative interdisciplinary comparative effectiveness research. The goals of the Oregon CER KM1 Program are to: 1) create a significant footprint for comparative effectiveness in the science of research methodology;2) create a sustainable opportunity for successful mid-level and senior investigators to expand their skill set and redirect their research to utilize comparative effectiveness methods;and 3) prepare researchers to design and implement high-quality, stakeholder engaged, pragmatic research projects in interdisciplinary groups employing cutting edge comparative effectiveness skills. The Oregon Institute for Comparative Effectiveness has two major components. The first is a summer institute in comparative effectiveness at OHSU, designed to attract interested individuals from a national audience to receive training in the fundamentals of comparative effectiveness research through a certificate program. The second, a KM1 scholars program that will enroll ten successful junior, mid-level, and senior scientists and clinician-investigators for a two year training program over 3 years for a 0.25-0.50 FTE experience. The learning experience of the scholars features 3 core elements: a didactic education in comparative effectiveness research culminating in either a certificate in comparative effectiveness or a Masters of Clinical Research;completion of the summer institute;and an extensive, interdisciplinary comparative mentored research experience. All scholars will participate in a comparative effectiveness review and a comparative effectiveness research project. Through their mentored interdisciplinary training, scholars will be uniquely positioned to make advancements in comparative effectiveness research that will improve the health of individuals, communities, and our nation. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Comparative effectiveness research holds a key place in national healthcare reform as a mechanism to improve quality, reduce the cost of care, and conduct primary research that fulfills the needs of patients, clinicians, and policymakers in their clinical decision-making. The Oregon Institute for Comparative Effectiveness combines the experience of the Oregon EPC's Comparative Effectiveness Center, the OHSU's CTSA (OCTRI), and the long history of support and success of K programs at OHSU, to provide successful research faculty with additional skills in comparative effectiveness to enhance their research programs and mentoring of future generations. Additionally, we will offer a summer institute on comparative effectiveness each year to stimulate comparative effectiveness research and mentoring on a large national scale. )